This invention relates generally to holders used for holding needles (as well as blood sample tubes) which are, in turn, utilized for taking blood samples. More particularly, this invention relates to a device which will retain, in orderly fashion, a plurality of such needle holders for sequential dispensing of the holders at a nursing station, for example, so that a nurse or laboratory technician may obtain from the organizer device of the invention a holder for holding an evacuated tube, for example, for taking a blood sample or a plurality of blood samples from an individual patient at a single blood sample taking procedure.
As practitioners in the art will understand, blood sample needle holders of the type to which the invention here is directed are used in large quantities in the everyday operations of a hospital, doctor's office, clinics or clinical laboratories. The holders are tube-shaped and have an open end and a substantially closed end. The substantially closed end has positioned centrally thereof screw threads for receiving the hub of a two ended needle. Once the needle is in place, the needle end extending away from the holder is utilized by the clinician for insertion into the vein of a patient. The opposite end of the double-ended needle extends into the holder. This needle end is inserted through the stopper of a blood collection tube when that tube is inserted into the needle holder. Once the needle is in place in the patient's vein, a plurality of evacuated tubes may be inserted into the open end of the holder for receiving the one end of the needle for taking, sequentially, a plurality of different samples of blood from a single patient at one blood taking.
Because the blood sample may be contaminated and because the holders are exposed to such contamination, once such a blood taking procedure takes place, the needle holder is discarded to avoid contamination, along with the associated needles which have been screwed into the substantially closed end of the holder. Because of this continuous disposal of the holders, a great quantity of such holders are utilized on a daily basis. For this reason, it has become important to have an organizer and dispensing device which will maintain the holders in orderly fashion in the phlebotomist's tray or cart so that they may be easily grasped from the device and utilized by the nurse or laboratory technician in the environment wherein a patient anticipates having a needle inserted into the skin. It is to this environment that the invention is directed.
The organizer device of the invention is an elongated rack-like structure with opposed L-shaped walls extending from an elongated base. The individual needle holders, therefore, can be inserted into the device of the invention by having the base flanges thereof slid between the opposed L-shaped walls for retaining the base flanges of the holders in place. The opposed L-shaped walls are spaced apart from each other so that the remainder of the holders extend upwardly from the base of the organizer and dispensing device of the invention.
Because of the unique configuration of the base flanges of the needle holders, they may be inserted through the opposed spaced apart upper surfaces of the u shaped structures of the organizer device of the invention. That is, the base flanges of the holders have diametrically opposed straight sides on two sides thereof and diametrically opposed curved sides on the remaining two sides thereof. As a consequence, the distance between the two diametrically opposed straight sides is substantially smaller than the distance between the remaining two curved sides. Because of this, the needle holders may be inserted into the organizer device of the invention and twisted 90.degree. to remain held in place until it is desired to obtain one of the holders for use. Thereafter, the clinical or lab technician may simply twist a holder 90.degree. and remove the base from the opposed upright locking surfaces of the organizer device of the invention.
Needle holders of the type to which this invention is directed are comprised of a flexible thermoplastic material, usually transparent or translucent in order to allow visual observation of blood flow inside the needle holders. Some holders have base flanges which are relatively thick and non-flexible. For these, the organizer of the invention may be comprised of a flexible material in order to provide a cooperating frictional grip between the needle holder flanges and the organizer of the invention. On the other hand, some needle holders have comparatively thin flexible base flanges, in which case the organizer may be less flexible to accommodate this property. The differences discussed here will be apparent from the discussion below.
As a further feature of the invention, the elongated base plate of the organizer device of the invention may be configured to provide a spring action for wedging the relatively non flexible base flanges of the needle holders in place so that they are gripped frictionally for maintaining them in place in an orderly fashion prior to dispensing. Alternatively, and/or additionally, the base structure may include a plurality of spaced apart nipples or protuberances which may extend integrally from the base plate of the organizer device of the invention for engaging the side edges of the base flanges of the holders for maintaining them in place. Alternatively, these protuberances or dimples may be formed subsequently by heat deflection. Also, as will be understood they may be formed to extend downwardly from the overhanging flanges of the organizer of the invention. At any rate, these protuberances may be comprised of a flexible thermoplastic material which "gives" when the base flange of a holder is forced over them for dispensing the holder.
Before describing this invention in more detail, it may be well to note that the dispenser organizer device of the invention may be comprised of a flexible thermoplastic material such as, for example, polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate and polyethylene terephthalate. Also, they may be comprised of rolled metallic sheet material formed into the desired shape. The device of the invention may be comprised of a moldable part which can be mass produced, as will be understood, from one of the above-noted materials. Materials should be selected which will provide a degree of resiliency for the purposes of providing cooperative organization of the needle holders, as discussed above, and as discussed further in more detail below.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.